


Poor(And other prompts)

by Turntechgodliness (AmberzillaRex)



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Gen, Panic Attacks, Past Sexual Assault
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-02 11:47:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16786360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmberzillaRex/pseuds/Turntechgodliness
Summary: As long as he can remember, Rich Goranski's family has been poor.He's gotten pretty good at spotting people who lived below the poverty line now, so it surprises him when he realizes that one of his friends might be in a similar situation, financially.( And other such stories)





	1. Poor

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is actually going to be a bunch of prompt fills revolving around Michael and his boys from things submitted to my tumblr davidelizabethbowiestrider revolving around Michael pairings! Feel free to pop a suggestion in a comment or to my tumblr! And enjoy!
> 
> Today's Prompt:  
> BMC Prompt: Rich and Michael bond over being poor? (i totally headcannon that Michael's family isn't that well off and that he totally sells like, vintage stuff on ebay to make money, can you include that too pleeeeeeease?)

-Poor-

As long as he could remember, Rich’s family has been poor. 

His father had lost his factory job when he was seven, his family already struggling to make ends meet when he had stormed in the door, drunk and livid about being laid off. He’d never looked for another job, falling into a routine of drinking and sleeping as Rich’s mother had taken on the role of sole income until her untimely death when he was eleven. He’d always been the kid who got the state funded school lunch, who went to free clinics and never had money to do things like the other kids his age. He’d grown use to it, and when he’d had the Squip, it had told him how to hide the fact that he was poor, how to get expensive things for barely anything at all. He’d hidden it well, so well that only Jake really knew how they barely ever had heat in his trailer at the moment because they couldn’t afford to fix the furnace or how his habit of stealing people's lunches came less from his want to bully people and more from, well, needing to eat. He was so good at hiding it now, even though he had people who he could talk to, who wanted to help him when he had problems, that he could almost easily recognize when someone else was trying to hide it as well. 

And Michael Mell, he was trying to hide it. 

He hadn’t really caught on, at first. Michael had always been a mostly quiet kid (bar bursting into song in the middle of the hallway in attempts to cheer Jeremy up) who kept to himself outside of Jeremy, making it hard to know...well, anything, really, about him. Rich had always been intrigued by the boy- nothing seemed to phase him, not the bullying that he’s done to him almost every day, not the strange rumor that had risen in Junior year (he hadn’t been responsible for it, but he had heard from Jake, who had heard from Dustin that the guy had a scar down his entire side, and did Jake hear that Mell went missing for literally two months before just reappearing in class again?). It was like everything simply slid off of him, and Rich had begrudgingly respected him for it even as he amped up his teasing at the Squip’s instruction. But after the play, once everything had settled and Rich had suddenly found himself surrounded by people who liked him for him, he’d started watching Michael a bit closer. 

Started noticing that his patches on his sweater were less of a cool collection and more of quick cover ups for holes. 

That his cool vintage video games were in the sort of condition one might expect from someone who had been given a pile of games when they were younger that they simply hung onto instead of actively seeking out retro games because they were cool. 

How Jeremy always seemed to be ‘carrying’ his lunch for him.

He was surprised to realize that Michael’s family wasn’t well off- as far as he knew, one of his mothers owned some sort of store and the other was a lawyer like Jeremy’s dad. He’d had no idea that Michael had been living only a few blocks away from himself until he spotted the familiar rusted purple PT Cruiser pulling out of a small one story house while on his way to Jake’s on day. The confirmation of his suspicion’s came while the group sat in Jeremy’s living room, Michael and Jeremy having had disappeared to make popcorn for the movie they planned on watching. Rich had gotten up to get himself a drink when voices in the kitchen had caused him to pause in the hall. 

“-can’t keep doing this, Michael. Stop being a stubborn asshole and let us help you.” Jeremy’s voice was low, and Rich couldn’t help but peek around the corner into the kitchen as Michael made an exasperated noise, watching the two as Michael pulled himself up onto the counter as Jeremy set up the air popper. 

“I’m not being stubborn, I’m being realistic. I won’t die without it, Jere. It’s fine.” Rich frowned, shifting back just enough to not be seen if either glanced his way as curiosity got the better of him. 

“No, see, the thing is you might? Seriously, Michael, just let us help you with it. Dad doesn’t even have to really pay for it, just have them write it under my name again and it’s covered. You know Dr. Lee will do it, no one ends up having to pay anything for it and you get your medication. Please, you know your moms are probably worried now that you’re out.” Silence fell between them as Jeremy stared Michael down, the seated teen picking at the counter under him as his brows furrowed. 

“They don’t know I’m out yet. You know mom’s got that case she’s working on for the daycare down the road, it’s taking up all her time. We haven’t seen her home for more than a few hours to sleep in like, a week. And what if your dad gets caught? He could lose your guys’ medical benefit’s.” Jeremy’s frown deepened as he reached to tug Michael’s hands up, squeezing them as he caught Michael’s eyes. 

“Come on, that's not going to happen for two prescriptions. We’ve got you, Micha. We’ll get it sorted out tomorrow.” Rich had moved back into the living room, drink-less, to give the two some time, and had fallen quiet the rest of the night as he’d thought over the information he’d discovered. He had taken the whole of Saturday to think about it before showing up at the Mell residence Sunday morning, one of Jake’s jackets pulled over his shoulders as he stood waiting for someone to answer the door. 

“Uh. Hey, Rich. What are...why are you here?” Rich blinked at the sleepy looking teen leaning in the doorway, taking in the way Michael looked softer without his hoodie shrouding him. 

“I thought I’d see if you wanna do a bro date hang out? We haven’t really had a chance to spend time together just the two of us.” Michael reached to rub his eyes (and wow, Rich had never noticed how big the other teens eyes were without his glasses on) before glancing behind him into the house. 

“Um. Yeah, okay sure. Let me just- do you want to come in for a minute? I just need to put on like...actual pants. And maybe a clean shirt for this bro date, unless you wanna hang out with a heathen in a spaghetti sauce stained Mario shirt.” Rich snorted, following Michael into the house and toeing off his shoes at the stern look from his friend. 

“As stylish as that sounds, dude, maybe change. It’s suppose to snow today and we might wanna go for a walk or something, like I’m glad Jake gave me this jacket last week or I’d be freezing my ass off at home.” Michael tossed him a questioning look, and he waved his hand as they passed a small, brightly decorated living room. “Our furnace broke like, ages ago and we can’t afford to fix it so my place is like a fucking ice box man.” Michael’s expression softened some, and he gave a small nod as he took in Rich’s words as he lead him towards a flight of stairs leading down into the basement. 

“That’s shitty. We’re lucky enough that we have a fire stove so we don’t have to really worry about that...but they shut our power off last week ‘accidentally’-” He made air quotes, a look of disgust on his face, “-that coincided with my mom’s last case going to trial that was against the power company. If you want I could come take a look at your furnace? I’m....pretty handy and stuff.” Rich’s brows rose at the admittance, and he gave a quick nod as they reached the bottom of the stairs. The basement was set up as a bedroom, a twin size bed tucked into the corner with a large, ancient t.v sat in the middle of the room, two worn in looking beanbags sat before it. Michael made his way to the closet, pulling it open and ducking inside as Rich took a moment to look around the room some. Stacks of comics, video games and other nerdy things were scattered around the oddly neat room, and Rich couldn’t help but smile at the small shelf sporting several anime figures above the television. Beside the shelf, an Apocalypse of the Damned neon light hung at a slight angle, as though someone had brushed against it on their way into the small laundry room attached to the room. 

“Your room’s pretty cool, dude.” He spotted a guitar tucked in the corner on a stand, beat up and probably older than Michael himself, before taking note of the ukulele resting against it. “Oh, hey I didn’t know you played guitar.” Michael reappeared from the closet, dressed in a pair of jeans with a clean shirt in his hand, and gave Rich an embarrassed look at the statement. 

“I mean, I sort of play them yeah. Not really for anyone but my moms or Jeremy, I’m not that great. Self taught and all.” Rich gave him an impressed look, his face heating up as Michael pulled his dirty shirt off to replace with the clean one, Rich catching sight of the fabled scar running along the other teens side. 

“Well, I want to hear you play sometime! That’s so cool Michael.” Michael rolled his eyes, reaching for his sweater before tugging it on. “Seriously, that’s really cool. My brother taught me how to play drums like, a few years ago, but he took them with him to college.” Michael nodded, gesturing for Rich to head back up the stairs, and the shorter teen moved to lead them up into the main hallway. “I kinda miss it, though my dad use to freak the fuck out every time we played.” 

“My dad use to hate that I played music.” Michael stated, dropping his hands onto Rich’s shoulders to guide him down the hall. “So I get it.” Rich perked up at the mention of Michael’s dad; he couldn’t remember the other teen ever mentioning him before, and he had always just assumed that Michael’s parents had adopted him as a baby. 

“Oh yeah? So like, how old were you when your moms adopted you?” He glanced over his shoulder, trying to catch Michael’s gaze, and Michael gave a small huffed laugh at his eagerness for information. 

“Thirteen. Mami is actually my aunt, and I lived actually two streets down in one of the trailers at the park.” Rich shot him a confused look, and Michael shrugged. “Jere and I don’t talk about it much. And now I’m here, in my cozy little house exactly one road away with my moms.” He steered Rich into the living room, giving him a gentle push onto the couch before moving to the wood stove, kneeling beside it. 

“You know, I’ve always wondered what exactly your moms do. You said one of them is a lawyer right? Why aren’t you guys living in some fancy condo or a nice neighborhood like Jeremy is?” Michael snorted as he started to make a fire, and Rich settled against the couch to watch him. 

“Oh yeah, Camille is a lawyer alright. She’s a non-profit lawyer who works with immigrant families and low income families, so she’s not like, a big fancy Personal Injury lawyer like Jere’s dad is. She makes about $32,000 a year because she keeps taking civil service cases and pro-bono cases, but she’s doing the right thing. And Maxine owns the pot dispensary downtown, the Pot Holder?” Rich nodded- he’d been there a few times, honestly, and hated to admit that he was guilty of lifting a few things from the store when the teenage clerk was on shift. “Yeah. People tend to steal from there a lot, and Mami’s too nice to press charges when they do, so...” He shrugged. “We spend more money repairing windows and in lost profit from stolen stuff than we get in some months. And Mami undercuts the price of product a lot, since a good portion of it she gets on a government allowance- she’s the only certified and registered dispensary in Jersey, so. We’re not exactly rolling in cash.” Once the fire was going, he moved to settle on the couch, rubbing his arm. “So now you know, the Mell’s are actually pretty poor.” He gave a humorless chuckle. “We’re barely making ends meet right now, and my birth parents are making their yearly shit storm trying to get money from my moms.” Rich leant to bump his shoulder to Michael’s, giving him a sympathetic look. 

“Dude. That’s so shitty, I’m sorry. I totally get people thinking you’re family has more money than it does. I live in a trailer two streets over from here, and my drunk dad hasn’t worked since he lost his job when I was like, seven. We’re Poor Bro’s!” He held out a fist to Michael, who gave a snort as he reached to bump it with his own. 

“Just call us the Food Stamps Fam.” The taller teen stated, and Rich snickered. “Seriously though, I uh. That sucks for you too dude. I’ll def take a look at your furnace, see if I can do anything, but you can always come hang out here. It’s usually just me and an empty house when I’m home now that Jeremy’s dating Christine, so company’s cool.” Rich nodded, and the two fell silent for a long moment before he spoke. 

“I heard you and Jeremy the other day. When we were all hanging out and watched Saw, I went to get a drink and...” Michael let his gaze drop to his hands, and Rich bit his lip. “I didn’t want to pry or anything, so I just went back to the living room, but I heard you guys talking about Jeremy wanting to help you out with meds?” Michael gave a small nod, and Rich shifted to half turn to face him. “I get what it’s like having other people help you out ‘cause you can’t afford things. It makes you feel shitty and you don’t want to take people’s help and have them know you can’t get things yourself. But dude...medication’s important. Jake’s been paying for mine since the-” He cut himself off, making a vague gesture in reference to the fire on Halloween, and Michael nodded in understanding, “-because I need it. And I know I need it, and Jake doesn’t want to see me suffering because I can’t get my painkillers and stuff. I know it’s hard dude but like...Jeremy really cares about you. Like a lot. He’s going to feel bad if you don’t let him help you, you know that right?” Michael gave a small nod, sighing deeply. 

“I know. I know that, dude. But I’m sure you know how hard it is to take that sort of help all the time. And my mom’s don’t want me working, so I can’t help out with money here…” He gave a shrug, leaning back against the couch. “And now you know. And I mean...same hat, whatever, but I hate people knowing.” Rich understood that- he more than understood it, and he offered Michael a half smile and another nudge. 

“I promise it doesn’t make you any less cooler if people know.” Michael returned the half smile, and Rich beamed. “But like, I gotta know. How the hell did you afford that first edition AotD neon light you have in your room? Those things are hella expensive!” Michael perked up a bit, and he ran a hand through his hair as his grin grew. 

“I actually got it at an old arcade out in Red Bank, a couple of the bulbs were broken and one of the couplings didn’t connect right so the guy just gave it to me. Then I repaired it and voila! The parts aren’t that hard to come by if you order them online, and I fix retro style things all the time for customers so…” Rich gave him an impressed look. 

“You fix old shit? And people pay you? That’s so cool!” Michael chuckled, and the two fell into surprisingly easy conversation as they curled up on the couch, enjoying the warmth of the fire as they talked. 

It was nice.


	2. "I'd let him crush my head with his thighs."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sopheg-the-gay on tumblr prompted me: Pins and patches, Jake asking Michael out? owo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I make no apologies for Michael Mell's hot thicc thighs. Ever.

“Nothing I’ve done has even phased him, Rich. Do you think he doesn’t like me? Like does he not have an interest in me?” Rich groaned as he shoved Jake’s backpack towards him, the two teens sitting on the hood of Michael’s car as they waited for the other teen to get out of his tech crew meeting with Mr. Reyes and Christine. 

“I think that maybe you’re both idiots, because you’re both crushing on each other hardcore dude. Like seriously, just ask him out. You’re Jake Dillinger, man! He’d be crazy to say no.” Jake worried his lower lip as he considered Rich’s words; he hadn’t noticed Michael showing any signs of liking him, though he had always been a little bit slower to catching on when people liked him (case in point, it had taken Chloe nearly throwing herself at him in eight grade to realize that she might, maybe, like him). 

“Do you really think I’d have a chance? I’m not exactly his usual type.” Rich snorted, leaning back against the windshield to bask in the warmth of the midday sun. 

“Does Mell even have a type? Has Michael ever even shown interest in a human before?” Jake shot him a look, and Rich beamed at him. “I mean besides him living up Heere’s ass.” Jake’s expression fell some, and Rich sighed as he sat up. “Seriously though, dude. He practically crawls into your lap during movie night, he steals your sweaters, hell your bed is like the only place he actually gets a good nights sleep. The guy is totally into you.” 

“Okay but what if I ask him and he says no? We spend a lot of time together! Shit could get really weird and awkward if he doesn’t like me like that.” Rich rolled his eyes, stretching out and kicking his feet some against the trunk. 

“Okay but what if you ask him out and he says yes? And you guys get to make sweet sweet love into the sunset?” Jake flushed at the thought, reaching over to slap Rich’s stomach. 

“Dude! Don’t-not cool!” Rich cackled, sitting up some to waggle his brows at Jake. 

“What, you can’t tell me you haven’t jacked it thinking of those sweet supple thighs man.” Jake’s cheeks turned bright red, and he shoved Rich hard enough to send him rolling off the car, laughing even louder. “I’d let him crush my head between them bro!” Jake groaned, dropping Rich’s backpack onto him with a glare. 

“I really hate you sometimes, Rich. Jesus.” Rich sat up, grinning widely as he spotted Michael leaving the school, and he jumped up to brush himself off. 

“You love me. I think I’m going to walk down to Whole Foods and harass Jeremy. Why don’t you ask him out on the ride home?” Jake sputtered as Rich took off at a run, the blond giving a confused Michael a wave as he passed him. 

“Does he not need a ride home?” Michael asked as he reached the car, slipping his backpack off of his shoulder to set on the trunk as he rubbed where the strap had been digging into his shoulder. Jake huffed, turning to watch as Michael rolled his shoulder, and shifted a bit closer to the other teen. 

“He’s going to bug Jeremy I guess. Is, uh. Your shoulder bugging you?” Michael glanced up as he found his keys, blinking at Jake’s question before half looking at his own shoulder. 

“Yeah, a little. I guess I over estimated my carrying ability while working on the sets today.” Jake frowned, reaching to gently feel out the spot that seemed to be bugging Michael, and Michael flushed slightly at the contact. 

“Dude, you gotta be careful when carrying heavy stuff. You could really hurt yourself if you aren’t careful. Want me to take a look?” Strong fingers rubbed over the thick fabric of Michael’s sweater, and the shorter teen made a noise as he shrugged. 

“Uh, sure? I guess? Normally I’d just ignore it but it actually really hurts...” Jake nodded, taking the keys from Michael to unlock the car and place their bags in the back seat before returning to Michael, who stood silently watching him with an unreadable look on his face. 

“So you’re gunna have to take your sweater off for me to look at your shoulder, Mikey.” Michael made a face as Jake spoke, hands automatically moving to clutch at the hem of his sweater protectively. 

“Why Jake Dillinger, are you trying to get me naked in the middle of the school parking lot? I’m just not that sort of girl.” He stated, smirking as he tugged his sweater up and off as Jake’s cheeks reddened. 

“Oh really? And what sort of girl -are- you, Mr. Mell?” He took Michael’s sweater to fold and place on the trunk, turning to take in the unfamiliar sight of Michael in just a faded Mario t-shirt. 

“The kind of girl who doesn’t just take her shirt off for just anyone.” Jake grinned at the implication that he wasn’t just anyone, moving to stand behind Michael to press his fingers along his collar and down his back some. 

“Dude. You have knots the size of baseballs, are you stressing out about something?” Michael shrugged slightly, and Jake bit his lip as he slipped a hand up under Michael’s shirt to press beside his shoulder blade. Michael’s head dropped forward some as he let out a pleased sound, and Jake couldn’t help but press a little hard to pull a small gasp from the other teen. “You need to just like...relax, Michael. You should let me take care of you, man.” Michael hummed, and Jake took a sharp breath, realizing that this might be a good time to seize the moment and do what Rich had been teasing him about. “You should...you should let me take you out. Would you...like to go out with me? Maybe dinner and a movie, or like...I know there’s a roller rink just outside of town, and I know you like that sort of stuff? It could be fun?” Michael tensed slightly at the question, and Jake stilled as he wondered if he’d said something wrong as Michael turned to look at him, causing his hand to slide down to the shorter teens waist as he stared at him. 

“You want to...take me out? Like as in on a date?” Jake nodded, and Michael’s look morphed into confusion. “Why? Did Rich put you up to this?” Jake frowned, surprised at the question. 

“What? No, why would- no, Michael, I like...I like you. Like, really like you. Like want to take you out on a date and maybe if you’re okay with it kiss you? Because you’re really cute?” Michael’s cheeks flushed at the words, and Jake tightened his grip on the other teen’s waist slightly as he tugged him a little closer. “Like, you’re really cool. Even back before when Rich and I were assholes to you, you just...let it roll off your back and ignored us. And ugh, I hated how chill you were about everything, and how you were so smart and always had a witty come back. And you’re like. Stupidly attractive. With your hair and your face and just...god, Rich was right about your thighs and I hate it.” Michael’s eyes widened and he tilted his head, a small smirk crossing his lips. 

“What about my thighs?” He asked, pressing a little closer to Jake and causing Jake’s brain to short circuit for a moment, hardly breathing at the sudden closeness of Michael’s body against his. He hadn’t expected Michael to take to the idea of a date, let alone...this, though he should have suspected that Michael would be the exact opposite of everything he had ever expected of him- the other boy was constantly surprising him. 

“I-they. You.” He cleared his throat as Michael’s smirk widened, and he rubbed his thumb against Michael’s side as he let his nervousness fall away to confidence at the positive reaction. “I mean, I’m not gunna lie dude. I haven’t been able to think about anything but your thighs since gym class last week when you had to wear those slightly too small shorts. I would do wholly inappropriate things to your thighs and I’m not even ashamed of it, Michael. I would worship your thighs given the chance.” Michael’s blush grew slightly, and he laughed as he gave Jake a gentle shove back. 

“I guess I could give you a chance to take me out. Flatter does get you somewhere’s with me, after all.” Jake grinned, warmth spreading through him as Michael pulled away to go open the drivers side door. “You can take me out rollerskating. And then if you’re good, maybe you can come home with me and we can discuss your obsession with my thighs.” Jake laughed, moving to get into the car as well as Michael leaned over the center console and into his space. “But first I’m going to have to get those keys back from you, Dillinger.” Jake snorted, holding the keys just out of Michael’s reach. 

“You’re a tease, Mell. Who’d have thought?” Michael smirked, pressing against him and snatching the keys from him before settling back into his seat, starting the car.

“Oh Jakey-D, you don’t know the half of it.” Jake couldn’t help the grin that crossed his lips as they headed out of the parking lot, his mind racing with all the implications of Michael’s words. 

He’d have to thank Rich tomorrow for getting him to ask Michael out.


	3. Poor, pt 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not really a prompt, just a continuation for Poor...there will probably be more of Poor not gunna lie

“We should go get some sushi guys!” Brooke’s excited exclamation interrupted the quiet of the room, causing most of the group to look up from their books to glance over to where she sat on Chloe’s couch with her chemistry notebook spread in her lap. 

“I am not eating gas station sushi, Brookie. That might be palatable by some people’s standards-“ Chloe shot Michael a dirty look, causing the boy to flip her off, “-but those people are heathens and I won’t lower myself.” Brooke made a face, closing her notebook as she gave Chloe a sad pout. 

“Well I wasn’t saying we should get gas station sushi, Cloe. We all got paid today, why don’t we go to that place downtown you like? We’ve been studying all day, we deserve a treat I think!” Beside her, Rich’s eyes darted from the girls to Michael, brows furrowed slightly at the suggestion. Michael gave him a look back, brow raised as he mouthed ‘eat out?’ to him. Rich shook his head as Jake gave a frustrated groan, closing his text book as he leaned back against the couch.

“I’m about ready to eat my books so I’m in. Also I think my brain’s going to literally leak out of my ears so.” Jenna made a sound of agreement, and Christine closed her own text book as she stretched in her spot on the floor beside Jeremy. 

“Ooh, what if we really treated ourselves and went to that new all you can eat place? I know it’s a little bit more expensive, but we haven’t gotten to go out to eat as a group for a while now.” There were several sounds of agreement, and Michael pushed himself up from his armchair and set his notebook down, catching Rich’s eye and flicking his gaze to the hall. 

“I’m just going to grab a drink while you guys solidify plans. Anyone want anything?” Rich moved to get up as well, nodding enthusiastically as he did. 

“I’ll come with, I need a drink but I dunno what I want.” The two disappeared into the hall, moving to the kitchen to lean against the counters after obtaining glasses of water. 

“I definitely don’t have the money to go out to eat, man. The store got hit again and things are super tight at home; I won’t be eating out anytime soon.” Michael huffed as he set his glass on the counter, brows furrowed as he pulled his Pac-Man wallet from the back pocket of his jeans to open it and look inside. “I’ve got just enough cash to get gas for the week if I only use the car for going back and forth to school.” Rich tugged his wallet free from his pocket and frowned as he opened it.

“I’ve got just enough for our coffee for the week. Maybe we can say Maxine needs us at the shop?” Rich had started working part time at the Pot Holder, despite legally not being old enough to- Maxine hadn’t technically hired either boy, but paid them an allowance that the two otherwise refused to compensate the labor they did at the store for her- and the excuse was plausible. 

“Yeah, that could work. I could say Mami called while we were getting our drinks, and the-“ Michael cut off as Jake entered the kitchen, the tall teen fixing the two of them with a hard look before moving to lean against the counter, arms crossed over his chest.

“You guys have been out here an awful long time for just getting drinks, dudes. Something up?” Rich and Michael exchanged a look as Jake reached for one of the glasses, taking a sip as he waited for a response. 

“Yeah dude, everything’s fine. You guys make up your minds about where you wanna go yet?” Rich asked, stealing his glass back and making a face at his best friend. 

“Yeah, the girls want to go to the all you can eat place. Are you guys okay with that?” Michael gave a small shrug, and Rich rubbed the back of his neck as he gave a small groan. 

“I think Maxine needs us at the store, to be honest.” The blond glanced at Michael for backup, and the taller teen nodded as he shoved his hands into the pocket of his sweater. 

“Yeah, we just got in a bunch of inventory so she needs us back at the shop. Totally just got a text about it.” He held up his phone, the small led that notified when he had a message flashing green. Jake frowned, glancing between the two as he took the glass back. 

“Sounds fake but okay.” Michael huffed, wrinkling his nose at Jake as Rich grunted in disapproval. “Do you ACTUALLY have to go into work, or do you-” he looked at Michael, who sank into himself some, “-just not want to go and you talked Rich into not going to?” Michael flushed at the accusation, and Rich frowned as he sidled closer to the other teen, making sure he put himself between Jake and Michael to ease Michael’s sudden tenseness. 

“Actually, I didn’t want to go Jake. I don’t have the money to go out to sushi, dude, you know that. Mikey’s just offering to stay back and make something at his place instead.” Michael gave a hesitant nod, and Jake let his gaze slide from the hoodie wearing teen to his best friend sheepishly. 

“Shit, Rich. I didn’t even think of that, dude, I’m sorry. That was really insensitive of me.” He ran a hand through his hair, frowning as he glanced back towards the living room. “I could probably cover you if you wanted? I still owe you for helping me bring my math grade back up, I don’t mind dude.” Rich hesitated a moment at that, casting a side eye to Michael at the offer. It wasn’t often he got to go to out to a really nice restaurant, but he’d feel bad if he just abandoned Michael after the other boy had offered him an out. 

“I can totally handle the store by myself if you wanna go, dude. No worries.” Michael flashed Rich a knowing smile, and the shorter teen all but melted at the way Michael didn’t seem upset at all. 

“Are you sure? I don’t want to go if you’re gunna be doing all that work alone, Michael, that’s not fair man.” Michael shrugged, running a hand through his hair as he gave Rich a soft look. 

“It’s seriously okay, Rich. You go with the others, and we’ll catch up later?” Rich frowned for a moment, glancing between Jake’s hopeful expression (he knew Jake liked looking after him, that it made Jake feel like he was doing something for the one ‘family’ he had left in New Jersey besides his aunt) and Michael’s almost expectant look, as though he had already accepted that Rich would pick going with the others. 

“I mean...it’s not fair if I go and you don’t dude.” Michael’s brows furrowed as he gave a half shrug, and Jake looked between them as he tried to figure out why Rich was so adamant about not going if Michael wasn’t. 

“I mean, I could totally treat you too if you wanted, Michael. No biggie, I never did like, thank you for saving us all and shit.” Michael flushed, waving a hand as he took half a step back almost subconsciously. 

“No, it’s alright, dude you don’t have to do that. Seriously, what was I supposed to do, let the Squip’s take over the school? No way. I wanted my best friend back, thanks.” Jake frowned, and Michael flashed him a grin. “Seriously, no thanks needed man. And I really should go help Mami, knowing her she’d go try to lift something twice her size and hurt herself.” Jake nodded, and Rich glanced between the two of them. 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to help?” He asked, and Michael nodded, giving him a smile. 

“Yeah dude, go on and have fun. I’ll see you later tonight?” Rich nodded, and Michael gave the two a thumbs up. “Cool. I’m gunna take off then.” He waved to the two before disappearing back out into the hallway to say his goodbyes to the rest of the group, leaving Rich and Jake in the kitchen. Rich frowned slightly, a plan formulating in his mind. 

“Hey, Jakey D? What if we brought some sushi to Mike afterwards?”


	4. Repression

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PROMPT: 'Hey! It’s Ari, we were talking about Michael head canons, I was wondering if you would write a fic about Rich, Jeremy and Michael talking about like sexual encounters and the other two boys realizingthat michael doesn’t realize the boy he lost his virginity to sexually assaulted him because he figures that he’s hypersexual so he must always want sex so he deserves it? // It’s Ari again, please add in my ‘michaels first time was with his brothers friend when he was a kid and he doesnt get how thats not okay?’ headcanon? Thank you!!!!'
> 
> Warnings for this chapter: discussion of sexual assault of a minor character, mention of being controlled (re: Squip), Panic attack, off handed suicidal comment
> 
> Please please please don't read if any of those things might trigger you- I don't want any of my readers doing themselves harm! Be safe!
> 
> ***The situation Michael talks about is just one form of sexual assault/reaction to realizing you've been assaulted, and is strictly based off of personal experience; there is no one way to react to being sexually assaulted. If you've survived a sexual assault, please reach out to someone. Trauma centers, friends, family, anyone you trust to talk to. You can even reach out to strangers if you have to- my inbox is always open if you need someone to talk to, both here and on Tumblr.

“So, you and Chrissy...you do it yet?” 

Jeremy wrinkled his nose as he shoved Rich’s feet from his lap, reaching to take the controller from him as the words ‘Reigniting’ flashed on the screen in front of them. They had been playing a round robin game of the new Spyro trilogy in an attempt to 100% the entire thing, idly chatting between them as they wasted a perfectly good saturday evening in the Mell’s basement. Michael had disappeared upstairs moments before to hunt down a bag of doritos, and as Jeremy pressed the start button to reset the level the familiar ‘thud thud thudthudthud’ of Michael tripping down the basement stairs caused Jeremy to glance over as he stumbled into sight, two bags of chips held aloft. Jeremy rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to the television as Michael collapsed onto the couch between them, tossing the blond one of the bags.

“What are we talking about?” He asked, and Jeremy groaned as he shifted to glare at Rich before turning back to the t.v as the blond let out a cackle, tucking his legs under him as he gestured to Jeremy. 

“If Heere’s done the deed with Canigula yet. If they’ve, as you will, canoodled.” Michael wrinkled his nose as Jeremy made an affronted noise, pausing the game to turn and give Rich a glare.

“I don’t think it’s anyone’s business if we -have- done anything!” He stated, voice high as his cheeks flushed in his distress. Michael let out a snort, reaching across Rich to ruffle Jeremy’s hair. 

“He wouldn’t be getting this embarrassed if he hadn’t. That’s so cute, Jere! Was your first time everything you wanted it to be? I’m so proud of you son.” Jeremy’s face heated up at Michael’s words, reaching to shove his hand away as he sputtered. 

“I-you-Michael! Shut up!” Rich burst into laughter, and Jeremy pouted at them. “Don’t make fun of me.” He whined, causing Michael’s laughter to peter out some as he tried to get himself under control, a bit worried that he’d upset his friend. He knew that Jeremy still had issues revolving around what had almost happened between him and Chloe on Halloween, and after a long discussion between the three of them weeks before, they had reached an agreement as to what they could tease Jeremy about and what wasn’t okay. “It was really sweet, okay. And I promised her I wouldn’t talk to you guys about it!” Rich rolled his eyes, leaning closer to Jeremy as he waggled his brows. 

“I told you about mine and Jake’s first time dude! It’s only fair! Bro’s share! Sharing is caring, Jeremy, don’t you care about us?” Jeremy rolled his eyes, and Michael reached to snag the controller from him before un-pausing the game.

“Yeah but that wasn’t your first time Rich. You don’t talk about your first time, it’s like...sacred. Right Michael?” Rich scoffed, leaning back slightly to nudge Michael with his shoulder as Jeremy gave him a hopeful look. 

“Why are you asking him? You don’t get an opinion unless you’ve had sex, that’s the law. The sex law.” Michael frowned slightly at Rich’s words, his gaze still focused on the screen as the two continued to talk around him.

“That you just made up? That’s not fair, I think he should still get an opinion.” Jeremy crossed his arms over his chest, staring hard at Rich before turning his gaze to Michael. “Micha? Thoughts? First times? Sacredness?” Michael gave a groan as his attention was pulled from the game, shooting the two unimpressed looks as he paused again. 

“First of all, the social construct that your first time is important and special is bullshit. Not everyone has a good first time; statistically a person's first time is more likely to be considered a mistake by them after the fact. If a person has a memorable, pleasant first time and they’re a romantic-“ he gestured at Jeremy in example,   
“-then yeah, they’ll probably want to hold onto that memory as a special, secret thing. But if someone’s first time isn’t with someone they loved-“ Rich waved his hand with a smirk, “-like Mr. Boombastic over here, or hypersexual-“ he gestured to himself,“-and just getting off, they don’t always hold the same feelings for the memory.” He shifted forward as he unpaused the game and returned his focus to the t.v with a small huff, shaking his head slightly. “And secondly, like, rude Rich. Even if I were a virgin I could still form an opinion on the subject. Fuck you and the Sable Island pony you rode in on shorty.” There was a moment of silence as Jeremy and Rich exchanged a look before Jeremy snatched the controller away, holding it above Michael as Spyro fell into a pit of lava on screen. Michael made a distressed noise as he turned to try and grab the controller, and Rich wrapped his arms around Michael’s shoulders to pull him back away from Jeremy, strong arms keeping him from being able to lunge at the tall teen. 

“Excuse me, what?! Even IF you were a virgin? What?” Jeremy’s question was less of a question and more of a whine, one foot pressing against Michael’s thigh to keep him in place as he set the controller as far out of the other teens reach as he could. “Did you have sex? Did you have sex and not tell me?” Michael rolled his eyes, going boneless in Rich’s grip with a huff. 

“What happened to your first time being sacred, Heere?” He asked, causing Rich to snort back a laugh behind him as Jeremy wrinkled his nose. 

“You literally just used yourself as an example for someone who doesn’t care about that Michael. Why didn’t you tell me? When was it? WHO was it?” Jeremy’s face fell some as he slumped in his spot, worrying his lower lip as he stared at the other teen. “Was it...did it happen when I had the Squip?” Rich flinched at the mention of the nanocomputer, and Michael sighed as he shifted to push himself off the couch, stretching as Jeremy crossed his arms over his chest. 

“No, it was a while ago. One of Alex’s friends- you remember Syd, Jere?” Jeremy frowned a moment as he thought back on Michael’s brother’s group of friends; Alex had been in college the past three years, and it took him a moment to pinpoint the friend Michael was talking about. 

“The blond guy with the really cool Tetris tattoo?” He asked, and Michael gave a nod as he moved to grab a drink from his mini fridge. “When did this happen?” Michael hummed as he sank bank onto the couch, popping open his soda and taking a sip. 

“That summer you went to your Aunt Mildred's. Alex and his friends got home from college and took a camping trip, and mom made him take me along since you were away and her and Mami were heading to my Uncle Beven’s place for the week. Alex and his other friend went to the lake and we just sort of...did it, I guess?” Jeremy’s frown deepened as he thought back to when he’d gone- he remembered being upset that he was going to miss Michael’s….miss Michael’s….

“We were fourteen! It was literally your 14th birthday three days after I left! Michael what the hell?!” Michael sank into himself some at the sudden shout, eyes wide as Jeremy’s expression turned into one of anger. “He had to have been, what, eighteen? That’s….Michael, you know that’s like….” he trailed off, shifting uncomfortably, and Rich grasped onto Michael’s arm, turning him towards him. 

“Dude. That’s...that’s not okay.” Michael frowned, brows furrowing as he glanced between the two, and Rich exchanged a look with Jeremy before placing a hand on Michael’s shoulder, his look turning a bit concerned. “You...know that, right? Michael. You know that an eighteen year old sleeping with a fourteen year old is totally not okay, right?” Jeremy nodded, shifting a bit closer. 

“It’s statutory rape, Michael. He was an adult and you were a kid.” Jeremy’s expression softened at the almost confused look on Michael’s face, and his eyes flickered from Michael to Rich as the shorter teen’s frown grew. 

“He didn’t force me to do anything. I wanted to.” Michael’s tone was casual as he shifted to push himself off the couch again, and Rich’s arms tightened around him to keep him from leaving as Jeremy grasped his arms. “Dudes, seriously. It’s not- it wasn’t like that? I thought everyone was gone and I was jacking off when he came in and caught me and it just...” He shrugged some. “It happened.” 

“That’s not...Michael, that’s. That’s not okay.” Jeremy sputtered at Michael’s words, fingers digging into Michael’s arm as he tried to figure out how to articulate what was wrong with what he’d just stated. 

“It’s just sex, Jeremy. Not all of us are hopeless romantics like you are.” Jeremy ran a hand over his face, sinking back against the arm of the couch with a distressed noise as Rich shifted to turn Michael towards him, the serious look on his face causing Michael to stop his attempts to get up. 

“It’s not just sex if you were taken advantage of, Micha. And if you were fourteen and he was eighteen, he took advantage of you.” Michael blinked slowly, thinking back to the incident for a moment as he took in Rich’s words. Both of his friends looked more upset than Michael thought was warranted; sure, he had been scared when Syd had first come into his tent, but the older teen had been so...nice. He hadn’t made fun of him like his brother would have, he’d even told him that he was actually attractive sprawled over the sleeping bags. He hadn’t struggled hard when the larger boy had pinned him to the tent floor, hadn’t put up much of a fight when Syd had convinced him to strip down despite asking more than once not to have to. Had felt like he owed him for being so nice to him the entire trip, for making sure he didn’t feel left out…

But he hadn’t -wanted- it. 

Now that he looked back on it, he’d been terrified. He’d been curious, and his body had definitely reacted positively to being manhandled (even more so than he figured normal, his hypersexual body sensitive and wanting, making him feel in the wrong for wanting to fight the touches and just give in at the same time), but he’d cried when Syd had started touching him, had pleaded with him not to tell Alex what he’d been doing if he did as he was told like any teen caught doing something wrong. 

“Michael?” His hands were shaking, and it took him a moment to realize that he was gripping the arm wrapped around his chest tightly, staring at the center of Jeremy’s chest. “H-hey, you’re okay. You’re okay, Mikey, you’re okay.” Rough hands cupped his face, and Michael squeezed his eyes shut as he took a sharp breath. 

“I...It….I wasn’t….It…” He could feel the tightening in his chest that signified the beginning of a panic attack, and he shoved himself away from the two teens and up off the couch, stumbling into the bathroom and closing the door behind him as he started to hyperventilate. He hadn’t thought back to that trip in almost three years, had never brought it up because he’d always felt...ashamed, he supposed. Whenever he’d thought about it, his chest felt tight and he’d push it away in an attempt to ignore it. It made sense, what Jeremy and Rich were saying. What they were implying. 

Hell, what they’d outright said.

“Michael? Michael, come on dude. Can you open the door please?” Jeremy’s concerned voice pulled him from his thoughts, and he sank down against the door as he wrapped his arms around himself. 

“I feel so dirty.” He stated, letting his head fall back against the door as he tried to calm himself some. “I feel like an idiot, oh my god Jeremy. He- I just let him. He s-said I was really g-good, I didn’t even want to, but he promised not to tell Alex what I was doing if I just let him-“ his words were broken by a sob, and the door rattled behind him before he felt it being pushed, opening just enough for slim fingers to press against his shoulder. 

“You’re not dirty, or an idiot, Michael. You were a kid, and he was an asshole who took advantage of you.” Michael gave another small sob, curling into himself as behind the door, a muffled conversation was had. “Michael? Can we open the door?” Michael buried his face in his arms, and behind him the door was pushed slightly. 

“Hey, man, I’m gunna push open the door okay? Can you move just a bit?” Michael shifted slightly as the door was pushed open enough for Jeremy and Rich to slip inside, both dropping to their knees as they exchanged a look. 

“Do you want to talk about it, Michael?” Jeremy’s voice was soft as he reached towards the other teen, fingers hovering above his arm as he hesitated to touch him. 

“I wanna die actually, thanks for asking.” Michael’s voice was muffled as he shifted to lean against Jeremy, and Jeremy pulled him into a careful hug as Rich slid to sit on his opposite side, awkwardly reaching out to pat his shoulder. “This is sure a thing I have to process now that I don’t want to at all.” Jeremy rested his chin on Michael’s head, sighing. 

“I know. B-but hey, I’ll be here with you while you process it. Okay?” Michael made a high pitched noise, and Rich shuffled closer, looping his arms around the two teens as best he could.

“And me. I’m also here dude. And so will everyone else in the squad, if you wanna tell them about it. And if you don’t wanna tell them, that’s cool too. Whatever you need Michael.” Michael nodded, sinking into the warmth of the two teens as he took a slow, steadying breath. 

“I think I just need to let this information sink in. I feel so...stupid. I didn’t even- the whole time you were dealing with what happened with Chloe on Halloween, I kept thinking ‘this is so awful, Jeremy feels so awful, how can I fix this’ and it didn’t even cross my mind that…” he shook his head, scrubbing his hands over his face as Jeremy gave a frown. 

“Michael, you’re really good at pushing things down and away. Look at how fast you forgave us…” Michael sighed, letting his head fall back against the wall as he reached out to grip Jeremy’s sleeve as the taller teen spoke. “Do you want to tell your moms? No pressure, but I think it might be a good idea…” Michael squeezed his eyes shut, the idea of telling them terrifying. He loved his moms, adored them to bits, but he knew that they would be livid with what had happened. He had no doubts that they’d believe him- he knew they’d be on his side, and get him any help he needed to deal with it- but he also knew that Camille would automatically want to try and bring the issue to court, to have Sydney charged with sexual assault of a minor, and he knew that too much time had passed. 

“They’re going to be so upset. They’re going to be mad at Alex.” He knew that his mother’s loved both him and Alex equally, but he also knew that they had always been a little more protective of him than they had been Alex- he wasn’t sure if it was because he was the baby, or because of how his adoption had gone, but he knew that they would come down on his brother hard for not knowing and that...that wasn’t Alex’s fault. “I don’t want to tell them.” Jeremy took his hand, squeezing it lightly as he gave a small worried nod. “Not right now. I just...I need to like, process this first. Okay? Then...then I’ll tell them.” He knew he wouldn’t be able to hide it from them for long, now that it was clawing at the back of his mind- he knew himself, and his moms knew him. He also knew that if he didn’t tell them, Jeremy would after enough time. 

“Okay. That’s okay, and if you want me to be there when you tell them I will? I’m here for you Micha. Promise.” Michael nodded, and Jeremy offered him a small smile as he tugged him into a hug. “It’s my turn to take care of you okay? I got you. Rich’s got you too. We know what you’re going through kinda. It’s different, obviously, cause like-” 

“I never had something forcing me to do it Jeremy. I did it on my own, with my own free will. It’s nothing like what the Squip did to you, what you went through was way worse.” Jeremy frowned, and Rich shifted to sit in front of them, grabbing Michael’s hands and giving him a stern look. 

“Dude. What’s it you keep telling me whenever I feel super shitty about being the whole reason all the Squip shit happened? You can’t compare your trauma to someone else’s because all trauma is valid. You’re trauma happened to you, and like that’s important. You’re not any less important because of the severity of your trauma.” Michael sniffled, giving a little wet chuckle as he tugged Rich close enough to hug him too.

“I didn’t know if you were actually listening to me when I said that.” He stated, and Rich laughed as he hugged him tight. 

“Dude. I always listen to you. It’s like going to my therapist but you actually care about me. Plus you’re like super smart with this sort of stuff.” Michael chuckled again, and the three sat like that for a long few minutes as Michael pulled himself together. 

“Can we just go back to playing video games for right now? I need a distraction or I’m going to just keep crying about something that happened three years ago.” Rich and Jeremy nodded, and after a moment the three found themselves back on the couch, limbs tangled as they all tried to fit under the one super soft blanket that the squad had deemed the ‘comfort blanket’. 

He was sure he’d have another breakdown later, but he’d deal with that later...with his friends help.


End file.
